The scoreline may not have been the one they were after, but Halstead Templars Rugby Club coach Barry Poulter felt there were plenty of positives to take from his team’s 33-0 defeat by Harwich and Dovercourt seconds.

Harwich have been the team that the Templars have gauged their progress against in Greene King Eastern Counties League division three south this season and Poulter had been keen to see the steps forward they had made.

The score, which was the same as in the reverse fixture earlier in the season, showed that there were still improvements to make in both attack and defence for the Templars, who return to action with a trip to Sudbury seconds tomorrow.

However, Poulter said he could see the progress made by his players this year.

He said: “It followed the same pattern as the last couple of times that we played Harwich with us showing some progression and improvements.

“We played better than in the last few games but you can’t really rate progress until you come up against a side like Harwich.

“So it was good to see us play better against them than the previous time.

“It was good experience that we need to get to be able to match theirs.

“They have been together for a long while.

“We did match them for periods, but their experience was telling.

“We just couldn’t break down their defensive line again, which is apparent from the scoreline.

“We did see improvements but that needs to be shown on the scoreboard and the players have to take the lessons and work out how to break them down."